A two day conference on minerals research in UK universities was held at the Royal School of Mines in London on 15-16 December, 2009.  The conference, which was organized by the International Mining and Minerals Association (IMMa), provided an opportunity for post-graduate research students to make short presentations on their thesis research topics to an audience of their peers and representatives from the minerals industry.  The objectives of the conference were to help students hone their presentational skills and to interact with other minerals research groups, as well as to publicise themselves and their work to potential employers.

The scope of the conference was broad, covering all aspects of minerals production, including applied earth science, mining technology, mineral processing, extractive metallurgy and environmental protection. The event followed a series of previous similar conferences, organized for several years by partnerships between academia and the minerals industry, which so proved the value of the basic concept that the IMMa has assumed responsibility for its organization.

There was a full two day programme of 24 papers presented by research students and 4 keynote lectures given by invited academic and industrial experts.  There were 50 registrants, with representation from seven universities: Imperial College (RSM), Exeter (CSM), Kingston, Leeds, Bangor, Cambridge, and Nottingham.  Thanks to the generosity of the sponsoring companies and organisations, registration for the students was free.  The presentations were all of excellent quality and the conference showed that research into minerals-related subjects is vibrant and diverse in UK universities.

There was much enthusiasm amongst the participants for the event and there was a general wish that it should be repeated on a regular basis in the future.

The conference programme (MS Word 862kb) included the presentations listed below. The programme and a set of abstracts of the presentations (MS Word 2.7mb) can be freely downloaded, but full presentations in pdf format are available to IOM3 members only.  Please click on the paper title to download. 

Keynote Lectures

Professor Derek Fray, University of Cambridge. "Progress in the Electro-deoxidation of Metal Oxides" (PDF 6.0mb)

Professor Barrie Johnson, University of Bangor.  Mining and Microbiology: Biotechnologies for Mineral Processing” (PDF 6.6mb)

Dr Ray Shaw, Independent consultant.  “The Minerals Industry in 2020”

Presentations 

Giacomo Bacci et al. Imperial College. “Impact of pressure and non-isothermal effects on well injectivity in CO₂ geological storage.” 

Pablo Brito-Parada et al.   Imperial College.  “3D drainage of liquid in froths for modelling flotation cells” (PDF 2.1mb)

Katheryn Cole et al. Imperial College. “Combining Positron Emission particle tracking and image analysis to interpret particle motion in froths” (PDF 2.3mb)

Hugh Datson.  U. Leeds.  “The development of a new protocol for directional dust monitoring” (PDF 33kb)

Emma Dowman et al.  Kingston U.  “Microprobe and fluid inclusion evidence for late-stage Zr, P, Ti and REE mineralisation in carbonatite systems” (PDF 1.9mb)

Christina French et al.   Kingston U.  “An introduction to the mineralogy of an orogenic gold deposit. Nielle Mining District, Cote d’Ivoire” 

Rajesh Govindan et al.   Imperial College.  “A geostatistical and probabilistic spectral image processing methodology for detecting potential CO₂ leakages on the surface”

Andreas Hahn et al.  Kingston U. “Characterisation and evolution of ore fluids related to diverse styles of Au-Ag, Cu and Pb-Zn mineralisation in the Tertiary metallogenic province, Southern Balkans, metallogenetic and economic implications” (PDF 7.4mb)

Mish Islam et al.  U. Leeds.  “Development of a Virtual Permeameter – sensitivity studies”  (PPT 2.7mb)

Yudan Jia.   U. Nottingham.  “Numerical modelling application of FLAC2D/FLAC3D to Boulby Mine shaft’s stability analysis” (PDF 930kb)

David Lawrence et al.   Kingston U.  “Ore fluid evolution in the Loulo mining district, Western Mali”

Soyeb Manga et al.  U. Leeds.  “Controlled formation of solid stabilised emulsions” (PDF 2.2mb)

Sharidah Mohd Amin et al.   Imperial College.  “Batch geochemical modelling study of the reactions between shale cap rock and a near pure CO₂ stream injected”

Gareth Morris et al.  Imperial College. “The effects of hydrophobicity and orientation of cubic particles on the stability of thin films” (PDF 958kb)

Matthew Neighbour.  U. Exeter.  “Application of automated mineralogy in geostatistics”

Daniel Parvaz et al.  U. Exeter.  “Development of geochemical and mineralogical methods for targeting lower environmental impact secondary copper deposits in the Troodos Massif, Cyprus” (PDF 5.2mb)

Paula Ramirez-Munoz and Anna Korre. Imperial College.  “Identification of geochemically distinct regions at river basin scale using topography, geology and land use in cluster analysis” (PDF 889kb)

James Smith et al.   Imperial College.  “Carbon dioxide storage risk assessment: potential leakage through fractured cap rock”  

Ben Snook et al.   U. Exeter.  “Profiling Ni-bearing silicate phases in lateritised material using QEMSCAN© automated mineralogy” 

Amer Syed et al. Imperial College.  “CO₂ storage in coalbeds: experimental studies on enhancement of permeability around the injection well by thermal stimulation”

Ofonime Udoudo.  U. Exeter.   “Too close for comfort: effect of particle proximity and other factors on automated sorter performance” (PDF 1.8mb)

Annuwat Wattanawan et al.  Imperial College.  “Life Cycle Assessment model of land-won primary aggregate production”

Nick Williams et al.   U. Exeter.  “Smart distribution systems for underground mining” (PDF 359kb)

Jiansheng Xiang and J-P. Latham. Imperial College.  “From DEM to FEMDEM: introduction of FEMDEM in particle technology” (PDF 9.6mb)